ROBBIA, Luca della
(b. 1399/1400, Firenze, d. 1482, Firenze)

Relief on the north side of the Campanile: 7. Blacksmithing (lower register)

1437-39
Marble
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence

This relief is one of the five hexagonal panels in the lower register of the socle on the north side of the Campanile which were added after removal of the raised passageway between the campanile and the cathedral. These panels were executed by Luca della Robbia in 1437-39.

The fifth of the five panels depicts Arithmetic and Geometry, represented by Tubalcain, who is mentioned in the Bible, in Genesis 4:22, as the first blacksmith. He is stated as the "forger of all instruments of bronze and iron". A descendant of Cain, he was the son of Lamech and Zillah. Tubalcain was the brother of Naamah and half-brother of Jabal and Jubal.

The reliefs on the Campanile are described in the section of Andrea Pisano.




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